WordPress 2.8 – What to Expect

With the release of WordPress 2.8 scheduled for April (let’s hope it’s not April 1st, that would just be bad) I decided it was about time I took a look at what new features it brings to the table.

As with each WordPress point release there is quite a list of bug fixes and new features introduced so I will highlight a few that I’m most interested in. So without further ado, let’s kick things off…

Improved performance for script loading

Use SimplePie for widget and dashboard feeds

Allow the dashboard widgets to be arranged in up to four columns as set via the Screen Options tab

Improved database performance

Autosave post/page when pressing Control/Command+S

Don’t ask for confirmation when marking a comment as spam

Then there are features that didn’t make it into the WordPress 2.7 release that I would like to see included with WordPress 2.8:

Better UI for post revisions, maybe an optional field to say what changed in a version

Method for uploading and installing themes directly in the WordPress UI

You can see a complete list of the new features that WordPress 2.8 brings over at WordPress.org